Special ed teacher saved students’ lives during Moore tornado

18 students, 3 teachers narrowly escaped falling car

Published 1:33 PM EDT May 23, 2013

MOORE, Okla. -

As the wedge-shaped funnel cloud was destroying every home in its path and speeding toward Briarwood Elementary, special education teacher Paula Fauble was cramming her students into a small hallway between two bathrooms.

She and three other teachers covered 18 students with pillows in a 3-foot by 10-foot wide corridor and then laid their own bodies on top to shield the students from the debris. As the roof came off the school a car went airborne and landed like a dagger just 20 feet from the teachers and children.

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